Think tank rejects misleading claims about its poppy stance
-11/11/06
The UK Christian
Think tank rejects misleading claims about its poppy stance
-11/11/06
The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia has rejected as ìdemonstrably misleadingî some widespread media reports regarding its stance on poppies and war remembrance ñ and has said that the debate about alternatives to war honours those we remember today (Armistice Day, 11 November 2006) and tomorrow (Remembrance Sunday).
Co-directors Jonathan Bartley and Simon Barrow declared: ìIt is mischievous to claim, as a number of news outlets have, that Ekklesia has called for red poppies to be replaced with white ones. Our message is about choice and serious thought, not confrontation. We have encouraged churches to make white poppies available too, not least because the Christian Gospelís hope centres on Jesusí non-violent absorbing of the violence of the cross.î
They add: ìReflection on the causes of war and on peacemaking alternatives truly honours those who have died ñ whether combatants, civilians or objectors, religious or non-religious. If this idea is controversial, then the red poppy alone is obviously not helping us to think outside the military box. The mess of Iraq suggests why we urgently need to do so.î
Ekklesia also points out that while it backs the idea that non-violence should be a ìcore Christian identity-markerî, white poppies are worn by those who support the ëjust warí approach, not just pacifists. ìThe point is to encourage peacemaking as a conscious part of remembrance. This is not happening at the moment, to judge from the row the very idea sparks.î
Added Simon Barrow: ìThe notion of asking Christians to think in a more explicitly Christian way about war has also not gone down well in some quarters. It isnít a point against the non-religious, however. It is an invitation for us all to look together at the roots of ëthe myth of redemptive violenceí, both in religion and in modern secular culture and decision-making.î
See also: Proper debate at about war ‘honours those who have died’ 09/11/06; Violent solutions not ‘normal’ but mythic, says theologian 09/11/06; Newsreader Jon Snow condemns ‘poppy fascism’ 09/11/06;Father of dead Canadian soldier supports white poppy 10/11/06; Challenge to political correctness of the poppy 09/11/06; Canadian war veterans attack peace activists over white poppies 08/11/06; Controversy over sale of white poppies. Consuming Passion: the cross and its interpretation in the face of religiously-sanctioned violence. More on the roots of the “myth of redemptive violence” here. Walter Wink is Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, USA. His books may be purchased at Metanoia Books. To buy white poppies: http://www.whitepoppy.org/; British Legion appeal: http://www.poppy.org.uk/givemoney.cfm.
Think tank rejects misleading claims about its poppy stance
-11/11/06
The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia has rejected as ìdemonstrably misleadingî some widespread media reports regarding its stance on poppies and war remembrance ñ and has said that the debate about alternatives to war honours those we remember today (Armistice Day, 11 November 2006) and tomorrow (Remembrance Sunday).
Co-directors Jonathan Bartley and Simon Barrow declared: ìIt is mischievous to claim, as a number of news outlets have, that Ekklesia has called for red poppies to be replaced with white ones. Our message is about choice and serious thought, not confrontation. We have encouraged churches to make white poppies available too, not least because the Christian Gospelís hope centres on Jesusí non-violent absorbing of the violence of the cross.î
They add: ìReflection on the causes of war and on peacemaking alternatives truly honours those who have died ñ whether combatants, civilians or objectors, religious or non-religious. If this idea is controversial, then the red poppy alone is obviously not helping us to think outside the military box. The mess of Iraq suggests why we urgently need to do so.î
Ekklesia also points out that while it backs the idea that non-violence should be a ìcore Christian identity-markerî, white poppies are worn by those who support the ëjust warí approach, not just pacifists. ìThe point is to encourage peacemaking as a conscious part of remembrance. This is not happening at the moment, to judge from the row the very idea sparks.î
Added Simon Barrow: ìThe notion of asking Christians to think in a more explicitly Christian way about war has also not gone down well in some quarters. It isnít a point against the non-religious, however. It is an invitation for us all to look together at the roots of ëthe myth of redemptive violenceí, both in religion and in modern secular culture and decision-making.î
See also: Proper debate at about war ‘honours those who have died’ 09/11/06; Violent solutions not ‘normal’ but mythic, says theologian 09/11/06; Newsreader Jon Snow condemns ‘poppy fascism’ 09/11/06;Father of dead Canadian soldier supports white poppy 10/11/06; Challenge to political correctness of the poppy 09/11/06; Canadian war veterans attack peace activists over white poppies 08/11/06; Controversy over sale of white poppies. Consuming Passion: the cross and its interpretation in the face of religiously-sanctioned violence. More on the roots of the “myth of redemptive violence” here. Walter Wink is Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, USA. His books may be purchased at Metanoia Books. To buy white poppies: http://www.whitepoppy.org/; British Legion appeal: http://www.poppy.org.uk/givemoney.cfm.